


to care is to love

by Suicix



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe, Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Im Jaebum | JB-Centric, M/M, Multi, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Polyamory, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-02
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2019-06-20 21:24:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15542454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suicix/pseuds/Suicix
Summary: Maybe, Jaebum can't help but think, being sick isn't quite as bad as it first seems when you've got three boyfriends taking care of you.





	to care is to love

Jaebum isn’t quite sure how he came down with this, but it’s bad. His head is heavy, his nose is blocked, and he feels like he’s done enough coughing and sneezing for a lifetime in the past few days alone. It’s been so awful that he’s had to take time off work, and even then he can’t find it in him to do anything other than stay in bed. He likes sleeping late when it’s his choice to make, but now that he can’t do anything else, lying around all day is boring him out of his skull.

Maybe it’s just as well that he finally caved in on letting Jackson and Jinyoung and Mark visit. He’d been insistent that they didn’t have to, not wanting them to get sick too, but they were too persistent. (And to tell the truth, Jaebum wants to see them. He wants them to take care of him.)

They’ve planned it out, apparently. Made a schedule sorting out when in the day each of them will be visiting. They’ve all got keys to his apartment; all Jaebum has to do is sit back and let them do their thing.

He wakes up mid-morning to the sound of his front door opening and closing. For a moment, he panics, but relaxes again when he realises that he knows who it is. Or, he knows that it’s one of three people, at least. He’d be happy with it being any of them.

The bedroom door creaks open, and Jaebum, still barely awake, sits up a little to see who’s there. He should have known that Jackson would take the morning slot.

“Hey.” Jackson’s head pokes around the door. He’s got a face mask covering his nose and mouth, because of course he does, and his voice is slightly muffled by it. “How are you feeling today?”

“I’ve been better,” Jaebum says truthfully.

“You’re supposed to say _better now that you’re here,”_ Jackson tells him, and Jaebum can hear the smile in his voice. “Have you been awake for long?”

“Woke up literally the moment you came in the door.”

“All right then. I’ll get you medicine. And tea. And breakfast!”

Just like that, he’s gone from the doorway. Jaebum can hear him moving around in the kitchen, the sound of his footsteps and the clunk of crockery. It’s relaxing, somehow, just knowing that someone’s there. The silence of the last couple of days had become too much, too deafening. Jaebum’s glad to have someone here to break it.

He almost dozes off again by the time Jackson comes back through from the kitchen, actually stepping into the bedroom this time. The tray that Jackson’s carrying is something that Jaebum forgot he even owned, and it’s loaded up with far more things than Jaebum expected. There’s his breakfast, two different cups of tea, a glass of fruit juice, and a bottle of cold medicine. Even the painkillers have been taken out of their packaging and are in their own little dish.

“Is one of those cups of tea for you or–?” Jaebum starts to ask, but Jackson shakes his head.

“No! Both for you.” Jackson sets the tray down in Jaebum’s lap once Jaebum’s sitting up properly. “Lemon tea with honey and peppermint tea. Both are good for colds and flu.” Trust Jackson to know that.

“I didn’t think I had either of those.”

“You didn’t,” says Jackson. “I brought them over with me.” He smiles (he’s still wearing the mask, but Jaebum can see it in his eyes) and sits down on the bed. “Go on.”

Jaebum takes a sip of the juice – both cups of tea look like they’re still too hot to drink – and tucks in. Jackson watches him intently as he eats, and it should probably be off-putting, but Jaebum’s just so grateful that he cares so much. That he’d go out of his way to come here and fix Jaebum breakfast, that he’d prepare so much and in such detail.

“It’s good,” Jaebum says, washing a mouthful down with some more juice. “Thank you, Jackson-ah.”

“Drink your tea,” Jackson tells him. “It’ll make you feel better.”

Jaebum feels a little better already. He’s been too tired to bother in the kitchen, especially in the morning, so getting to eat a good breakfast is like a revelation, especially when he didn’t even have to get out of bed to eat it. He does as Jackson says and picks up one of the mugs, the one that Jackson said was lemon tea, and takes a drink. There’s the sweetness of the honey and the strength of the lemon, and altogether it’s smooth, soothing his throat. The cup’s warm in his hands and it’s starting to spread throughout his body, exactly what he needs when being bundled up under a blanket still isn’t enough to stop him from feeling cold.

Jackson stays as Jaebum drinks his way through the two cups of tea, telling Jaebum about his plans for the rest of the day. In between coaching fencing and personal training, he’s got a busy afternoon ahead. Still, Jaebum’s glad that Jackson gets to do both: he’s a good teacher when it comes to the things he’s passionate about, so why should that only be limited to one thing?

“I suppose I should get going,” he says once Jaebum’s done with his breakfast and taken the cold medicine. “I’ll take these out and then I’ll go, yeah?”

“OK,” says Jaebum, and he leans into the touch when Jackson reaches out to stroke through his hair.

“Just keep taking the medicine and drinking the tea and resting and you should be better in no time.” Jackson stands and picks up the tray, balancing it in one hand as he opens the bedroom door. “I’ll see you later, Jaebum-hyung.”

Jaebum says his own goodbye and gets himself lying down properly again. He can hear Jackson washing up in the kitchen within minutes, and by the time the front door opens, Jaebum’s back to sleep.

 

 

It’s well into the afternoon when he wakes up, disorientated and still just as tired as before. It doesn’t matter whether Mark or Jinyoung comes over next – Jaebum just hopes that it’s soon.

Apparently just thinking that is enough to will it into existence: there’s the front door, and then his bedroom door, and then Jinyoung’s standing in front of him.

“Jaebum-hyung,” Jinyoung says, and suddenly, at the sound of his voice, something in Jaebum feels calmer. In one hand, Jinyoung’s holding a bag from the convenience store down the street. “I brought lunch, if you want it. Are you feeling OK? Do you want something to eat?”

“I’ll have something,” Jaebum says, because he feels like he probably should. “The rest can go in the refrigerator or a cupboard or wherever. Oh, and Jackson brought over tea, too. Could you make me a cup?”

Jinyoung obliges, heading to the kitchen. He comes back with food, tea for Jaebum, and a cup of coffee for himself. He sets them both down on the bedside table, passes Jaebum’s lunch over, and picks up the book that’s on the nightstand next to where he put the cups. The bookmark inside puts Jaebum just under halfway through, but he hasn’t been able to make any more progress since he got sick. It feels like something he should be able to do while bedridden, but sometimes, his head just hurts too much to concentrate.

“Finally took my recommendation, then,” Jinyoung says, turning the book around to look at the blurb. Jaebum doesn’t know why he’s looking seeing as he’s already read it. “How are you enjoying it?”

“I like it,” Jaebum tells him honestly. “Haven’t read much recently, though. Considering that I’m ill.”

“That’s a shame. I could read the next couple of chapters for you if you wanted?”

Jaebum does want. “Sure,” he says, and Jinyoung sits on the bed beside him with the book, opening it up where Jaebum left off.

Jinyoung’s a good reader. He speaks clearly and with feeling, emphasising the right things and making the story come to life. When Jaebum’s finished eating, he sets the empty dish aside and curls up closer to Jinyoung, closing his eyes and concentrating on what Jinyoung’s saying and nothing else. It’s so much easier to enjoy the book while he’s sick when he’s not the one turning the pages or reading the words. When he can just relax and picture the characters and the setting in his head, and he’s distracted from how shitty he feels.

Eventually, Jinyoung comes to a stop at the end of a chapter. Tensions are rising, and there’s no word to describe the place he left off at other than _cliff-hanger._ Jaebum opens his eyes, turning his head so he’s looking up at Jinyoung.

“You left it there on purpose, didn’t you?” he says. “Because you know exactly what happens next.”

“I do know what happens next,” Jinyoung says, slotting the bookmark in between the pages and closing the book. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see, unless you feel up to reading ahead on your own.”

“Maybe I will, then.” At this point, he feels like he could.

Jinyoung smiles. “Tell me what you think if you do. I’ll see you, Jaebum-hyung – I’ve got some errands to run.”

He kisses Jaebum on the side of the head, and with that, he’s gone.

 

 

Mark arrives at some point in the evening, just as it should be starting to get dark outside. This time, Jaebum knows who’s there when he hears the front door opening – he’s ready to see Mark’s face when he hears footsteps outside his bedroom door.

“Hey,” says Mark, his voice gentle like the warm, soft glow of a lamp. “Are you OK, Jaebum-ah?”

“Still sick,” Jaebum says, “but yeah. I think I am.”

Today’s been his best day since getting ill, and that’s all because of his boyfriends. It’s amazing how much better just seeing them has made him feel.

“That’s good.” Mark carefully shuts the bedroom door behind him and makes his way over to the bed. “Do you have something you can eat for dinner?”

“There are leftovers from lunch,” Jaebum tells him. “Jinyoung put them in the refrigerator. Or somewhere. I don’t want anything now, though.”

“OK.” Mark’s standing closer to the head of the bed now, right up near the nightstand. He’s already taken his shoes off, and he probably took a jacket or hoodie off on the way in, too. “You want me to join you?”

Jaebum blinks up at him for a moment, not quite sure what Mark’s asking. _Oh._ Mark’s wondering if Jaebum wants him to get into bed with him.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to get sick as well.”

“I’ll be fine,” Mark says simply, so Jaebum leaves it be. He lets Mark lie down beside him, and rests his head on Mark’s chest. They don’t need any more words than that. They never do.

They fall asleep, but Jaebum doesn’t know what else he expected: it’s _them,_ after all. They’ve napped together before, and this is exactly what he needs from Mark. Exactly what he wanted. Mark drifts off first – maybe he had a busy day – and Jaebum follows soon after, letting his eyes droop shut as he gives in to nothingness.

He can’t tell how long it’s been when he stirs, brought back to consciousness by the sound of a door opening, just like he was in the morning.

“Huh?” Mark’s woken up too, much to Jaebum’s surprise: he’s the heaviest sleeper Jaebum knows, besides maybe Youngjae. “What–?”

It’s dark in the bedroom now, but as the door opens, light filters in from the hall, and Jinyoung and Jackson come into view in the doorway.

“You two are back?” Jaebum’s surprised: he wasn’t expecting them at all. “Did you know they were coming?” he asks Mark, and Mark shakes his head.

“Couldn’t leave you alone, could we?” says Jackson. “I mean, Mark’s here, so you’re not _alone,_ but you know what I mean.”

Jaebum does. He’d be the same with any of them.

“Do you guys wanna join us?” Maybe it’s not such a wise suggestion: Jaebum can see Jackson physically recoil at the prospect of catching his cold.

Luckily, Jinyoung steps in. “Or we could all move into the living room,” he says. “We’ve eaten already, but maybe you two haven’t. We could all watch something, unless you’ve still got too much of a headache for that.”

“We’ll even change the sheets first,” Jackson adds. “Then maybe we’ll see about the bed. We could stay over, if you want.” Now that Jaebum looks, he can see that they’ve both got overnight bags with them, a change of clothes likely stuffed into each one. Mark didn’t have anything of the sort when he came in, but that’s OK. It’s not like he hasn’t spontaneously stayed overnight before. The four of them only just fit into a double bed together, but as far as fits go, it’s always a perfect one.

“Go eat something,” Jinyoung says. “We’ll stay here and change the bed.”

Jaebum sits up first, and then Mark. He holds out a hand for Jaebum to take, and they head out to the lounge together. With all four of them there – eventually, once Jinyoung and Jackson emerge from the bedroom, bedsheets in hand ready to go in the laundry basket – the couch is just as comfortable as the bed. Jaebum lets himself relax against the cushions: this whole day has solidified how much they have him, how much he has them in return – and it isn’t even over yet.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading, everyone! you can also find me on tumblr @ vibetechs, and on twitter @gotsevenses


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